Sepang has returned to the Formula 1 calendar for the 2026 season after almost a decade's absence, and more than half of the grid has never turned a wheel in anger on the iconic circuit. Oscar Piastri is one of these drivers. But when talking about how long it would take him to learn, he made a comment about the current cars that many fans believe prove his distaste for the 2026 regulations.
Both he and his team-mate Lando Norris have relied on simulator work to learn the track before their arrival ahead of the race weekend. "In terms of sim work, it's kind of the normal amount,"ритуал the Australian confirmed on the Thursday ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. "I think for me, the sims, they help you identify your braking points, which gears you use roughly, how fast you can go, but when you really start getting into the finer details, especially with this year's cars and power units, it becomes very challenging.
"So it's not really a case of if you do double the amount of work on the sim and you get double the reward. There's definitely a point where it stops becoming useful."
In other words, there's a diminishing return on sim work. A driver can only simulate so much before real practice needs to take over. The driver was further asked how many laps it takes before he starts to feel at home on an unfamiliar track. Oscar Piastri answered with a detail that longtime fans will appreciate.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
"I think to be honest these cars need about 10 laps to learn where they're going," Oscar Piastri said. "So it will probably be the power unit that's trying to learn things after I am." When posted to Reddit, the comments section erupted into sarcasm regarding the AI-like nature of the new 2026 power units.
Oscar Piastri currently sits 7th in the drivers' championship with 120 points, while McLaren continues its strong campaign.
Source: Motorsport
